Debbie is a passionate advocate of diversity in maritime, having been the inaugural co-chair of the Maritime UK Diversity in Maritime taskforce, setting up a Women in Ports group and having previously worked on diversity at Nautilus International, expanding the remit to cover LGBT+ and ethnic diversity as well as female seafarers.

Debbie is the Chief Executive at Port Skills and Safety, a membership organisation focused on encouraging and promoting continuous improvement in port health and safety and building a highly skilled workforce for the future. She has spent most of her career in communications roles, working for trade unions, charities, government, and private sector organisations.

In 2010 Debbie moved into the maritime sector, working for maritime professionals’ trade union Nautilus International. Initially working on the Union’s award-winning newspaper, the Telegraph, before moving into a senior management role covering policy and strategy.